Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

 

 

Clockwise top left, Lisette, Me, Cheiron, Tiffany

Hey,

If you have been visiting my blog for a while you know a) my wedding anniversary is Halloween and b) I always celebrate the anniversary of our first date - 30th October.

This year it's 16 years together and 11 years married!! 

The photo is from our anniversary early morning boat ride through the water park/conservation area last year in Cancun.

Being a cardmaker, I use these x2 anniversaries as an excuse to make Hubby elaborate cards. 

First up the 16 year card.

I love the 'Bacon' set by AALL & Create - a brand that I discovered earlier this year, whilst I was at home in London and they have been such a great find. I blended Worn Lipstick and Picked Raspberry distress oxides to create my background and then stamped the awesome bacon stamp from 'Bacon Break' by Sweet Stamp Shop. I added a few hearts for fun.

I mean how can he not love a card with a bacon background?! AND not a pun in sight (he very much dislikes a pun card, and I give them to him to wind him up - hee hee).

And here is the 11th Wedding Anniversary card! It's not strictly a pun, but it is kind of because it's Halloween...

I love all the amazing cloud blending I am seeing and I need MUCH more practice at it. But I am SO happy with how this came out and now I need a black blender brush..

I used an MFT Cloud stencil, Crate Paper 'After Dark' stamps and Papertrey Ink 'Keep It Simple: Anniversary' stamps. The inks are distress oxides in Black Soot, Carved Pumpkin and Wilted Violet.

We would normally be in Mexico right now celebrating, but you know global pandemic.. So we are going to our fave restaurant in NYC instead (hoping we don't freeze to death outside). 

I would just like to say that even though the last 7 months have been very strange, there isn't anyone else I could have been trapped in a small apartment with. Hubby and I have had so much fun at home, watching random crap, eating our body weight in cake, perfecting our fave recipes, and hanging with Clint Catwood. 

If you choose your life partner carefully, all storms can be weathered with humor.

I love you Mr G, you are my man, love, thing for life and beyond.

Cx

Hey,

Welcome to September!

I can't believe it is my birthday month already, this year has flown by!

I thought I would share a card that I made a while back during a coloring challenge. 

I love the Hero Arts mini stamp and die set 'Beach Please' it makes me laugh every time I see it, with the dog on the towel! The umbrella and the pineapple cocktail are separate stamps and dies and there is also a suntan lotion bottle!

I used a fave Dutchdoobadoo stencil for the clouds, I added a little Lawn Fawn stitched hill for the sand and a Lil Inker sun.

I always love how these cards turn out.

It also seemed appropriate to share it now, as I just got back from x4 days at the beach with Hubby and Lisette.

We had a wonderful time and it was SO good to get out of NYC and our apartment, even for a short time.

Cx

Hey,

Happy Monday!

Hope you had a good weekend?

Hubby and I had a fun staycation here in NYC and a really nice relaxing weekend hanging out together.

Today I am sharing a card I made a couple of weeks ago for a colleague.

I loved the 'Midnight Shoe' stamp by Crafter's Companion the minute I saw it when I was in London last.

I love the fact that it's making me question Cinderella's story now LOL - I mean was she just tipsy and lost her shoe?!

Anyway, I stamped it onto white card and die-cut it using a Spellbinders nesting fancy shape die. I wanted to use one of these random neutral card-blanks that I have, so I coloured the shoe to match and added gold metallic pen dots to it for some shimmer.

Very happy with the end result and my colleague loved it too.

Cx

Hey,

After losing Archie 3 years ago and then Boscat so suddenly last January, I really didn't know if my heart would mend fully..

It was SO silent in the apartment that we only waited 5 weeks after the passing of Boscat before we got another cat.

We chose 'Pantera' who promptly got renamed Clint Catwood - aka Clint.

Clint is approx 3 and he has Feline FIV - which really isn't that dramatic, we just have to keep an eye on him if he gets sick, as he doesn't have a good immune system.

We really lucked out with him, he is the most gentle creature we have ever met, he loves to be picked up and carried and held. Snuggling is the thing that he loves the most and he has this weird meow bark that he does to demand snuggles. The strangest thing is that he loves to lay on us for hours, I have had a lot of cats and this has never happened before and I have to say, I'm rather enjoying it!

Clint has turned Hubby and I into even bigger softies than we were before!

It's not easily to lose a beloved pet and it can be hard to welcome a new one, but we have had a super smooth ride with Clint, it was like he just wanted to be with us!

Hope you like my little collage of photos of our beautiful boy.

Cx

Hey,

This is probably my last post of 2019 and in fact the decade!

I started my blog in 2010 at the start of this decade and it has been a source of great pleasure for me.

When I moved to New York, I decided that I would make more of an effort with my blog and posted more and was invited to a few design teams.

But last year I realised that I was 'competing' with myself to post almost every day and to outdo my total posts per year!

I decided last December that I would take my foot off of the gas and only post what I really wanted to and not because I felt I should - basically putting the fun and pleasure back into my blog posts.

It has worked, this year I have posted 173 times v 305 last year! And it has been a much more pleasurable and not stressful thing.

My card today was made for a good friend, using a gifted Zini from another good friend. I love how shiny and fun it is. The gold dots were created using Indian Gold Nuvo Mousse through a Clearly Besotted stencil.

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas with your family and that 2020 brings you much happiness and laughter.

Hubby and I are heading to London tomorrow to spend some serious QT with our family and friends.

See you in 2020.

Cx

Hey,

Hubby and I are currently in Mexico to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary, but if you have read my blog before then you know that yesterday was the anniversary of our first date - making this 15 years that we have been together!

I have written SO many posts about Hubby and our relationship over the last 10 years that I have had my blog.

My fave post is this one I wrote to celebrate our 10/5 year anniversary and I can't top that. I also decided not to use one of our Wedding photos for this post. The one I have used is from a friend's wedding last year and I love it, as it's SO us.

So today, I'm just going to show you the two cards I made Hubby for both anniversaries - I am a cardmaker, after all, so he always gets two cards!

I bought this amazing set by Ellen Hutson when it was on sale, especially for this occasion, as I refer to Hubby as Otter Boy - too personal for this blog ;) AND Hubby really hates all my punny cards, so I love to wind him up by giving them to him..

But also Otters mate for life and when they are in the Ocean or the River, they hold hands/paws at night, so that when they sleep they don't drift apart.. We have always thought that this is the sweetest thing ever and the set had two Otters holding hands/paws making this set perfect.

The first card is the one for our 15th Anniversary -

This card is SO sparkly IRL, as I added Wink of Stella everywhere!!
I started by stenciling in the waves using a MFT stencil, then I added the sunburst, using a Clear Scraps stencil.
I stamped, coloured and die-cut the Otters and added a sentiment from the set.

Really happy with both cards - especially the mad puns!

Happy Anniversary Hubby, so glad that we are 15/10 in and continuing to have fun together, here's to the next 15/10 of fun, laughter, love and adventure. You will always be my Otter boy.

Cx

Hey!

Happy Birthday to Me!!

Yes, I am super vain I like to write blog posts about myself on my own blog on my birthday :) But surely that is the benefit of having your own blog?!

This year has pushed my patience and ability to feel the joy.. We had to say goodbye to our beloved Boscat in January, I have gained a serious amount of weight thanks to an undetected Thyroid issue, I have had a blood pressure issue meaning I can do barely any cardio AND then I broke my foot in May and 4 months later we discovered a deeper fracture that had happened at the same time, so I am back in the boot AND on crutches.

UGH!

These things have been taxing, to say the least, but I have realised that every grey cloud, comes with a sunny one..

We got Clint - he is amazing and we couldn't have dreamed of having such a wonderful, loving, gentle creature. The foot got fixed long enough for me to enjoy the trip to Ibiza for Hubby's 40th (and oh man did we enjoy that trip). The Thyroid issue has been tackled now and the tablets are fixing my blood pressure issue and once I am back on my two feet, I can deal with the journey that is required to shed the excess weight.

The reality of my situation is that I could be in a cast (UGH) and I could actually be waaay heavier, but they found a way to keep me out of my cast AND I found a way to keep going to the gym, despite the fact that I have been gaining weight no matter what I do!
I finally achieved my dream of being a deadlifter and reached my goal weight of 185lbs - YES that is right - me?! I can deadlift 185lbs. Every time I say it and watch the video of me doing it, I smile. I impressed myself.
I mean do you know what it takes to get your body to the point where you can do that? Trust me I did not. It takes a LOT of repetitive exercises that made me want to scream out in frustration and pain!

So remember - negativity doesn't help, maintain your joy at the little things in your life, no matter how hard that might seem sometimes, it's always better than feeling sorry for yourself.

I'm grateful, happy and feeling the joy for the life I have, no matter what the hardships, I still have Hubby, Clint, my family, and my friends and that makes everything A-Ok.

Cx

Hey,

As you know July was spent celebrating Hubby's 40th birthday.

He had x2 parties, a birthday vacay and x2 family lunches - phew.

I really wanted HIM to say 'thanks' to a small group of people that had helped make his birthday fun and who had given him gifts (gifting is always optional with us).

Knowing Hubby as I do, I knew that if I left it too long to make the cards the moment for him to write them out would pass...

So I looked around my desk for inspiration and came across an alcohol ink thank you card that was already made. I dug out x4 more alcohol ink panels (top x2 use the alcohol ink lift technique) and whipped up x4 more cards!

I am super pleased with these, they look great and used things that I had already made.

Don't you love it when you find desk loot? Almost as good as loop furniture (I live in a complex that has 'loops' and you can put out your old furniture on the loops) - see below for Hubby's new desk that we found 2 weeks ago in our loop.


Cx

Hey,

Happy Thursday to you.

This is my last post for a week or so, as Hubby and I are leaving today for his 40th birthday trip to Ibiza and London - WHOOP!!

I made today's card for a good friend - she loves Dogs and has x2 enormous Staffies!

I totally forgot that I had this Tim Holtz set of Dog stamps and when I rediscovered them, I made a bunch of fun cards including this one.

I had stamped and coloured the Dog and added the sentiment, but it all felt a bit boring, so I added the teeny triangle background by Avery Elle and I think ti totally brought the card to life.

See you in 10 days!

Cx

Sorry about the glare, really hard to photograph foil!

Fun way to add some added interest and shimmer to my projects.

Here's a list of what I used for each card.
Wildflowers card:
Ellen Hutson - Mondo Wildflowers stamps and dies
Sentiments - Ellen Hutson Mondo Sakura

Party Fox card:
Avery Elle - Party Fox stamps and dies
Sentiment banner die by Lil Inker Designs

Both cards were coloured using Copic Sketch Markers.

Cx

Hey,

Happy Friday to you!!

It has been a busy week - hence why it has been a week since I posted!!

This morning I got up super early to do small group training with Wendel and another client of his, it was HARD but a lot of fun.

To celebrate the weekend I wanted to enter the current CASology challenge.


I haven't played along in a while and I thought it was just perfect for my new digital stamp set by Graciellie Design 'Tea for the Soul' I love their stamps, they are so pretty and beautiful to colour.

I printed, coloured and fussy cut the teacup stamp. I really wanted to keep the background clean, but it all looked a bit flat when I put it together, so I used the Lil Inkers Spiral Cover-up die on the bottom half of the card and it totally brought my card to life.

The sentiment is from the same set and it makes me laugh every time I see it. I added a few yellow enamel dots here and there to finish my card.

I am so happy I decided to play along, it made me very happy last night to make this card.

Have a great weekend.

Oh and here is a little montage from Hubby's birthday party last weekend!

Hubby with his candles on a half-eaten doughnut! Group selfie, Hubby at the after-party, The x2 3ft Subs!

Cx

Hey,

Happy Monday, live from London!!

Hope you had a good weekend? I had a fun one hanging with Hubby and my parents. Yesterday my Dad and I went to the first test game at the new Tottenham stadium - which was so amazing and epic for us.

In case you didn't know I am a life-long Spurs fan, thanks to my Dad and before I left for NYC, we were season ticket holders.

We have been waiting for this stadium a very long time, I'll show you a photo, later on, this week when my phone files have backed up.

For now, you will have to make do with x2 cards I made using a little cardkit my friend Kelly sent me. It was a totally unexpected piece of Happy Mail and she sent it to me because I said how much I loved her Monster stamps (that I had never seen before).

Kelly had stamped the Monsters and their sentiments and provided the patterned papers and the twine. So all I had to do was colour, cut and assemble..oh and add some googly eyes - OBVS.

I love random Happy Mail..unsurprisingly it makes me happy.

Cx

Hey,

Happy Thursday!

There has been a bit of a post gap from me, I was on vacation for 6 days with my Hubby in Tampa and when we got back, we collected our new cat Clint!


Isn't he gorgeous! We are in love already and he has settled in really well.

I made today's card a while ago. I bought the awesome Peacock set by Avery Elle over Black Friday..

It actually comes with a 'Happy Valentine's Day' sentiment, but for my first use of it, I wanted to make an Anniversary card.

I stamped the Peacock repeatedly onto a piece of white card to create the background and because I wanted my bright and colourful Peacock to pop, I left them all uncoloured.

I added two different kinds of hearts and the sentiment to complete the card.

I love it, it was a good decision to leave the background uncoloured.

Cx

Hey,

I normally do a Valentine's Day card series, but this year because I have been sick and super busy at work, I just didn't find the time to get the posts ready.

Hubby and I are not into celebrating Valentine's Day, but I do love making the cards, so I send them to my girlfriends.

Every year I make Hubby a pun-tastic card, because he is not a fan of the punny cards, I always get an eye roll from him when I make them.

I bought the awesome Newton's Nook 'Pina Koala' stamp because I knew that Hubby would be all 'why?' hahahaha.

I printed out part of the sentiment, leaving a gap for the Pina Koala stamp. I stamped the cute Koala and then die-cut the whole panel using a Lil Inkers die. 

I mounted the white panel onto a Lawn Fawn cardblank.

Fun right?

Hubby and I are en-route to Tampa as this posts, 5 glorious days of sunshine and RR.

Cx

p.s I did make 10 VDay cards for my girls, but didn't photograph them..

Hey,

Happy Friday!

This week I am having a lot of fun entering challenges.

I didn't really have the time or the mojo in December, but now everything seems to be aligning and I can play! Yay!

I LOVED the sketch over at Less is More, so many possibilities..


I masked off the x2 triangles and blended some Distress Oxide Worn Lipstick ink into the masked off space. I then ummed and aahed - stencils or stamps over it. So I decided to pause and look for a sentiment to inspire me..

I remembered I had a great set by Unity Stamp Co. 'So Very Grateful' and I chose one of the sentiments from the set.

Then I stamped hearts over the inked panels and then stamped over those hearts with an outline heart stamp (notice my oops..ugh.).

It's so simple, but so impactful. I think I have to save this sketch and use it again.

Hope you have a nice weekend, I am going to the gym at 6am today, then out with my ladies and then tomorrow Hubby and I are heading to the Hudson Valley for a short break.

Cx

Hey,

Happy Saturday,

It's been a short work week, but a long personal one.

Boscat is rather unwell and it's really stressful for Hubby and I, especially Hubby as she is the kitten he always wanted and they really bonded over the last 13 years.

I thought it would be nice to share a card I made for a friend. I forgot her birthday and she is totally a 'oh heck' kinda gal. I normally use a Simon Says Stamp 'Oh Ship' stamp for belated birthday cards, but I found this little beauty at Michael's and it made me smile.

The border is a stencil by The Crafters Workshop..I love it and I've played with it a lot.

A simple card but impactful.

This weekend Hubby and I will be watching wildcard games and hanging with Boscat and I bought a new unit for the craft room, so I will be slowly assembling that and transferring stuff into it (hopefully).

Cx